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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: band · current · saw · bound · lash · bulb · chest · march

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. band — a music group
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. current — of water
  6. bound — obliged
  7. march — the month
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bound — certain
  11. bulb — for light
  12. march — music
  13. saw — the tool
  14. march — the month
  15. chest — a box
  16. current — electric
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. chest — of your body
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. chest — of your body
  21. current — happening now
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — past of 'see'

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com